Pay stub guides
The reasoning behind the numbers on a pay stub, written out. These pages exist because the generator deliberately does not hide the arithmetic: it adds your earnings, subtracts the deductions you entered, and shows every line on the way.
The arithmetic
Gross, deductions and net — with the numbers shown long enough to check.
- How to calculate net pay from gross payThe arithmetic behind a pay stub: gross pay minus deductions equals net pay, with worked hourly and salary examples and the pre-tax / post-tax distinction.
- Hourly pay stub: hours, rate, basis and overtimeWhat an hourly pay stub has to show, how the basis column is derived, and how to handle overtime when your stub generator has no overtime multiplier.
The paperwork
What belongs on the document, and which record answers which question.
- Pay stub template: every field and what it provesA field-by-field anatomy of a pay stub, including the lines a generator commonly omits — year-to-date totals, employer ID and tax jurisdictions.
- Pay stub vs W-2 vs 1099: which document answers which questionPay stubs, W-2s and 1099s are different documents answering different questions. Here is which one to reach for, and what each can never prove.
Something these guides will not do
They do not compute your taxes. Withholding depends on tax tables, wage bases and your own elections, all of which change; anything we hard-coded would be wrong for somebody the day we shipped it. Deduction amounts come from you — our privacy page and refund policy explain what happens to that data after you pay, and none of this is legal or tax advice.
First published 2026-09-22. Guides are reviewed when the calculator’s behaviour changes, not on a calendar.